You don’t have to be an ecologist to understand that without water, there’d not only be no biodiversity; there’d be no life. Yet even the U.S. Senate admits (in a February, 2011 report related to water scarcity) that the need for this fundamental, finite resource is “often one of the most overlooked aspects of our daily lives.”

According to this same report, global water use has been growing at a rate more than double that of the world population in the last century. Today, more than a billion people worldwide live without clean drinking water.

What about Earth’s plants, animals, and other living things? How does water scarcity impact ecosystem integrity? What is being done to study and address the ecological impacts of poor water management?

Join us as we go beneath the surface of water conservation and explore its relationship to the fields of ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design.

For some global perspective and a tall drink of inspiration, we chat with world-renowned author, activist, physicist, philosopher and feminist Dr. Vandana Shiva. We also share the insight of an ecological design and engineering pioneer, Dr. John Todd.

With the demand for water and the increasing instability of our planet’s climate, the need for sustainable solutions to preserve ecosystems and support biodiversity through innovative water conservation and management has never been more critical. Recognizing this, Biohabitats recently acquired the visionary water resources firm, Natural Systems International (NSI).

We’re delighted to introduce you to these incredibly talented folks and show you how they are integrating ecology and water related infrastructure by highlight some of their recent projects. NSI’s founder, Michael Ogden, shares a personal and international perspective on wastewater/water issues and the associated environmental impacts of international trade.

From the seat of an airplane window, ecological landscape designer Jennifer Dowdellmuses about the role of water in landscape ecology and provides a bucketful of water-related facts and figures in the form of a “Water Index.”

For those who want to learn more about water conservation and ecology, we provide loads of links and resources.

What are YOUR thoughts about water conservation as it relates to ecology? Share them on our Rhizome blog, or email us about being a guest blogger!